A 79-year-old man has been charged with allegedly raping a 14-year-old girl who suffers from a mental disability in Takeo province, according to police.

Pok Kong, of O’Saray commune in Tram Kak district, was arrested on Friday at his home after the victim’s family, who live in the same village, claimed he had sexually assaulted the teenager, according to deputy police chief of Tram Kak district, Sok Sokchea.

“The victim suffers from a mental disability, which has affected her from birth, making her vulnerable,” Sokchea said. “Kong apparently lured her out of her house when she was at home alone, and warned her not to tell anyone what had happened.”

The perpetrator assumed that the victim’s disability would make her an easy target and keep her silent, Sokchea added, but in fact she disclosed the alleged sexual abuse to a relative who called the police.

Local ADHOC official Koy Non expressed shock at the case. “He is an old man, and he should be at the pagoda instead of doing what he allegedly did,” he said.

Approximately one in 20 Cambodian girls reported sexual abuse before they turned 18, according to a 2013 study by UNICEF. Of that number, seven out of 10 said they had been abused on multiple occasions.

Kong was sent to Takeo Provincial Court yesterday.